The Government of Brazil has established a state of calamity in 336 of the 496 that make up the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul due to the heavy rainfall that has been falling throughout the past week, reaching levels that have not been seen since 1941.
The list of affected municipalities includes the state capital, Porto Alegre, where the water level exceeded five meters this weekend, and cities with high population density such as Canoas and Caxias del Sur.
According to the Civil Defense of the southern state, at least 83 people have died as a result of the storm, there are more than one hundred injured and another 105 missing, while the Brazilian Air Force has deployed reconnaissance drones this Sunday to help locate and identify more victims.
In total, more than 844,000 people have been affected throughout the state, the southernmost in the country, of which 134,300 have lost their homes.
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has promised that bureaucracy will not be an obstacle in the state’s recovery efforts and that all necessary resources will be made available to the region: “We owe a lot to Rio Grande do Sul and the gaucho people”, he said, reports the G1 portal.
Lula visited the region this weekend leading a delegation made up of several ministers from his Government and the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, and the Chamber of Deputies, Artur Lira, who have announced that this week Congress will vote on “extraordinary measures.” of financial aid.
“We are at war, I know that is President Lula’s feeling, there will be no limitations or legal restrictions. It is necessary to get rid of bureaucracy, obstacles and limitations so that nothing is missing in the reconstruction of Río Grande del Sur,” said Pacheco.
“It is a war scenario and will require post-war measures,” added the state governor, Eduardo Leite.
Rescues, deaths and missing people
The death toll could increase considerably, given the number of missing people, which has grown considerably compared to 70 the previous day, according to the state civil defense authority. He also indicated that an investigation is underway to see if four other deaths are related to the storms.
The floods caused have affected more than two thirds of the almost 500 towns and cities in the state, bordering Uruguay and Argentina, leaving more than one hundred thousand people displaced.
Floods destroyed roads and bridges in several areas. The rains also caused landslides and the partial collapse of a dam at a small hydroelectric plant.
More than 400,000 people were without power Sunday night, while nearly a third of the state’s population lacked drinking water, according to officials.
In Porto Alegre, the state capital, Lake Guaiba overflowed, reaching the highest water level on record, according to the national geological service. The international airport has suspended all flights since Friday.
In the city of Canoas, near Porto Alegre, Julio Manichesque, 76, was rescued by volunteers after staying on the roof of the house where he has lived for 52 years since Friday. “He had never seen so much water,” he said.
Many volunteers have also risked their own safety during rescue efforts, using small boats, jet skis and kayaks.
Fabiano Saldanha, 30, said he and three friends have rescued about 50 people with jet skis since Friday on islands that are part of Porto Alegre. “The only thing we hear when we enter a street is ‘help,’ ‘help,’” he said.
During his weekly address in Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said Sunday that he is praying for the people of the state. “May the Lord receive the dead, comfort their families and all those who had to leave their homes,” he stated.
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